PRESERVING THE MOTHER TONGUE

 *Preserving the mother tonque* 

A “Mother Tongue” is a native language or the language of our ethnic roots.

Anyone that speaks his mother tongue preserves it but he that speaks only the language of his neighbour without making any effort of learning his own has lost his root completely. This is because More than 6,000 languages around the world are on the verge of becoming extinct. The question is, do you speak your mother tongue? Not until this question is answered then you will continue to be a stranger in your own land for not able to speak your mother tongue.

According to the language activist, “When humanity loses a language, we also lose the potential for greater diversity in art, music, literature, and oral traditions 

As a Bwatiye man from Adamawa state of Nigeria, I grew up with parents that always reminds us of our history and the need to preserve our mother tongue. They gave me education that equipped me to write some topical issues in my language including  writing over 300 poems and 100 quotes that gives life a meaning to anyone that read and  understands Bwatiye literature.

My wife in the other hand is my native but doesn't speak our  dialect due to some factors that limited her from speaking.

My children came and were struggling to speak Bwatiye language as they were already used to English Language. This bothered my wife and I  so I  was challenged to start speaking it to them, am glad that there is great improvement since we started.

Research shows that children learning in mother tongue adopt a better understanding of the curriculum.

There is no doubt that no matter your age if you are willing you can still learn your mother tongue.

It is in view of the fading away of languages across the globe that I came up with an idea of online school in Bwatiye language ( KWA-BWATIYE)